Model Sophie Dahl, funnyman Stephen Fry, veteran actor Bernard Cribbins, and former Doctor Who Peter Davison have also signed up to the fundraising drive by The Cure Parkinson's Trust.
They have each etched their own design for unique, one-off candle holders made of bone china, which will be auctioned off in aid of the charity via the eBay website.
The 10-day sale, which begins on Tuesday (22Feb11), also includes signed photos from other stars including Sir Michael Caine, opera singer Katherine Jenkins, former Spice Girl Geri Halliwell, and Little Britain creators Matt Lucas and David Walliams.
And Gervais is urging fans to support the charity's efforts to raise awareness of Parkinson's disease, writing on his blog: "Please bid for my little doodle in an auction for Parkinsons."

Joaquin Phoenix and Richard Jenkins are also in talks to join the cast, according to CinemaBlend.com.
Franco will take a leading role in the movie, an adaptation of the acclaimed William Faulkner novel.
According to MTV News, Franco will start shooting this summer (11).

Actor Jesse Eisenberg seems to like to appear in movies that open during the first weekend in October. Last year on this very same weekend he starred in Sony's well-reviewed horror comedy hybrid 'Zombieland' as a reluctant gun-toting zombie killer. This year he takes on a much more cerebral character who uses his intellect to redefine the world of social networking rather than splattering zombie guts all over the screen. To that end, few movies are able to create as much pre-release excitement as Sony’s 'The Social Network.' With Oscar buzz, critical raves and over 500 million members who use Facebook on a daily basis, David Fincher’s big screen adaptation of this incredible entrepreneurial story is set for a solid debut this weekend. The seeming fascination with the rise of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg (Eisenberg) from Harvard student to multi-billionaire gives the film instant appeal. Throw in Justin Timberlake, a terrific trailer, great writing, solid directing, mix together and you’ve got a recipe for a film that will perform strongly not only this weekend, but over the long haul.
Currently performing well over the long haul is Warner Bros.’ ensemble heist drama 'The Town' which dropped a minuscule 34% last weekend and will hold steady again in this, its third weekend of release. Incredibly positive response by audiences toward this potential Oscar nominee will keep this one in the money well into the fall movie season. This is the very definition of quality fall filmmaking and has brought new levels of respect to actor/star Ben Affleck. With a stellar supporting cast including Jon Hamm, Jeremy Renner and Rebecca Hall, this is a must see film for those looking for a well above average drama with plenty of action thrown in for good measure.
Gordon Gekko in Fox’s 'Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps' has been strong at the box office mid-week will be in the running for a respectable second weekend payday. After its number one debut last weekend, “Wall Street” clearly shows that Michael Douglas’ portrayal of this iconic character is still of interest to audiences more than twenty years after the release of the original film.
Warner Bros.’ will continue to be well represented in the top five in the second weekend of the 3D animated and IMAX-enhanced 'Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole.' Opening with $16.1 million last weekend, the film will continue to find favor with families who are finding multi-plexes loaded with decidedly adult-oriented fare and few options appropriate for their kids.
With terrific reviews, phenomenal acting and a director who has arguably improved on the Swedish original, 'Let Me In' from Overture Films is one of the few horror films in years to generate solid reviews and a grudging respect from foreign film aficionados. Based on 2008’s acclaimed “Let the Right One In,” the film has eerie visuals, strong performances and enough truly scary moments to satisfy the horror fans and generate long term interest in the weeks to come. Terrific young stars Chloe Moretz and Kodi Smit-McPhee join the great Richard Jenkins in this riveting film.
Click here for my Spotlight on 'Let Me In's' Kodi Smit-McPhee
Year-to-date box office revenues have now topped the $8 billion mark and are running 3.88% ahead of last year while attendance is still lagging by nearly 2% as we continue through the always eclectic, often rewarding fall movie season.

The Wall Street star was slated to join his wife in her native Wales ahead of this weekend's (01/03Oct10) revered golfing tournament, but was unable to travel because he's recovering from the final stage of his chemotherapy treatment.
Zeta-Jones pressed ahead with her duties by attending Wednesday's Welcome To Wales gala concert at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, where she was joined by Welsh opera star Katherine Jenkins.
The golf-loving Chicago actress gave a touching speech to the audience, telling revellers as her voice cracked, "Michael will be glued to anything that has a golf ball and a club, especially the Ryder Cup. Usually I would be watching with him. He would be representing the American team and I would be wholeheartedly representing the European team, but not this year, maybe next time.
"He's not travelling with me. He's just finished his treatment. He's holding up very, very well and everyone couldn't be happier with his progress. He's holding up with great strength and dignity."

Easy A a teen sex comedy with no actual sex aims rather conspicuously to plumb the best bits of Diablo Cody and Alexander Payne in its upside-down self-consciously campy take on Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter. In the role of its high-school Hester Prynne is Emma Stone the sly husky heroine of last year’s surprise hit Zombieland. Tested by a film that is far less clever than its director Will Gluck or screenwriter Bert Royal would have us believe (and they desperately want us to believe) she passes with flying colors delivering a performance that should elevate her into the upper echelon of actresses possessing brains and beauty in equal measure.
Stone plays Olive the kind of quick-witted hyper-literate teen that our educational system produces in ever-diminishing numbers. (If it ever produced them to begin with.) More knowing and sophisticated than others her age she is nonetheless not immune to the pressure of peers and the dread of being labeled a loser. Under duress by a prying friend (Aly Michalka) to dish the details of her birthday weekend a rather mundane affair mainly spent jumping on her bed to the tune of Natasha Bedingfield’s pop monstrosity “Pocket Full of Sunshine ” she feels compelled to embellish a bit and concocts an entirely fictional account of losing her virginity (dubbed the “V-Card” by Royal trying too hard) to a boy from a junior college across town.
Word of Olive’s deflowering spreads with startling speed aided by the incessant rumor-mongering of a catty Evangelical eavesdropper (Amanda Bynes). Suddenly branded a tramp on account of a seemingly harmless little lie Olive opts to embrace her newly tarnished reputation and put it to good use. In a viciously stratified social environment where even the most awkward acne-plagued pariah can earn respect and even admiration from members of the upper castes for having gone All the Way Olive anoints herself the Mother Theresa of (fake) sluts bestowing her blessing upon downtrodden gents in need of a reputation boost. And she resolves to look the part too traipsing around in scandalous bustiers and affixing the letter “A” to her chest.
There are limits to Easy A’s Scarlet Letter conceit overly Glee-ful tone forced repartee and pop-culture references (John Hughes is invoked so many times he should get a producer credit). Which is why director Gluck must be grateful to have found Stone who handles the verbal calisthenics of Royal’s script with charm and verve and a certain effortless appeal that keeps us engaged even as the film wallows in contrived irony and heavy-handedness. Keep your eye on her.

Its looks like the dudes beat the chicks this as the stars of Lionsgate’s “The Expendables” told their audience to stop being girlie men and head to theatres this weekend, while Julia Roberts may have the last laugh with “Eat Pray Love” and “Scott Pilgrim” searches for a dance partner.
Friday the 13th brought good luck to Lionsgate’s “The Expendables” as it earned an action-worthy $34.8 million weekend gross. This seems to be a magic weekend for genre movies as evidenced by last year’s same weekend $37.3 million debut of “District 9.” Directed by and starring Sylvester Stallone, the film challenged the notion that star power doesn’t matter anymore and to prove the point threw about a million action stars into its R-rated mix. With the watering down in recent years of movies for guys to a more “audience friendly” PG-13 sensibility, it’s great to see some good old-fashioned R-rated cringe-inducing violence and mayhem. It did not hurt that Stallone enlisted a veritable who’s who of the action world including Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Randy Couture and Steve Austin. This testosterone-fest flexed its considerable muscle, sent all the girlie men packing and easily dispatched all comers in this weekend’s box office battle of the sexes. Even Julia Roberts' big brother Eric Roberts joins the proceedings - see my story on Julia Roberts vs. Eric Roberts at the box office.
“Eat Pray Love,” three words you will most certainly not hear used in a sentence in “The Expendables,” took the number two spot. Not to be upstaged by her decidedly macho competition, Julia Roberts may have the last laugh in the long run with the potential for strong word-of-mouth and a possible Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination for co-star Richard Jenkins. $23.1 million for the weekend (and only a 4% drop Friday to Saturday) shows that women are still a box office force to be reckoned with as they lined up to follow this romantic journey of enlightenment with one of the biggest female stars in the world.
The third spot belongs to last weekend’s number one film as Sony’s “The Other Guys” drops 51% and earns another $17.4 million thus bringing its cume to $69.9 million in domestic revenue. Starring Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg, the film was number one Friday through Thursday of last week and has enjoyed terrific reviews and strong audience reaction. In a twisted way, director Adam McKay is to Will Ferrell what Martin Scorsese is to Leonardo DiCaprio with McKay having also directed Farrell in “Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy,” “Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby” and “Step Brothers.”
Of course, Warner Bros.’ “Inception” would never dream of leaving the Top Five and continues to pose a major competitive threat as it marches toward the $300 million domestic mark. With another $11.3 million in the pillow case and only a 39% fifth weekend drop, the film has an impressive domestic total to date of $248.5 million.
Universal’s unique and visually stunning “Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World” starring Michael Cera debuted in fifth place with $10.6 million. In fewer theatres than the other newcomers the film faced a major challenge from the very male-oriented "Expendables," “The Other Guys” and even “Inception.” Too many dudes on this particular dance floor made it hard for “Pilgrim” to get noticed with so many “guy movies” in the marketplace. Still the film has gotten a positive response on the social networking platforms so that's a plus.
A major box office milestone this weekend as “Toy Story 3” became only the eleventh film in history to cross the $400 million mark in domestic revenue. Congrats to Disney/Pixar and the creative, marketing and distribution teams that perfectly put together the pieces that created this stunning box achievement. See related story - Toy Story 3 finally hits $400 million!
An “up” weekend (barely) vs. last year gives us solid momentum as we head into the home stretch of the summer movie season. Five wide releases (including the start of my Academy Awards campaign for “Piranha” in 3D) hit theatres next weekend as the final mad dash to the end of the summer begins.

On Friday Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Eric Roberts, Randy Couture, Terry Crews, Mickey Rourke and Steve Austin topped the box office with a gross of around $13.5 million as “The Expendables” from Lionsgate took on other newcomers and last weekend's number one film, "The Other Guys."
In second place, Julia Roberts represented the female audience in Sony’s big screen version of the best-selling novel “Eat Pray Love” with a Friday gross in the $8 million range. A very “un-Expendable” style sensitivity, had women lining up at theatres on Friday.
Beyond the box office: a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination for the always terrific Richard Jenkins would not be a surprise.
Sony's “The Other Guys” had a solid Friday gross of over $5 million thus bringing its cumulative gross to close to $60 million while Universal’s “Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World” starring Michael Cera earned just over $4 million.
Warner Bros.’ "Inception" is always a factor in the top-five derby casting its spell to the tune of $3.3 million in early weekend bucks and a domestic total to date of $240.5 million.
This just in! "Toy Story 3" on the verge of becoming only the eleventh film in history to cross the $400 million mark in domestic revenue, with Friday's take of around $600,000 bringing its total to an "oh so close" to $400 million cume of $399.2 million. See related story at Toy Story 3 to hit $400 million.

Friday the 13th will bring good luck to the movie industry as Lionsgate’s “The Expendables” will wreak havoc this weekend with an expected gross in the $35 million plus range (and potentially higher). Taking the notion of “star power” to a whole new level by enlisting a veritable who’s who of the action world including Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Eric Roberts, Randy Couture, Terry Crews, Mickey Rourke and Steve Austin, “The Expendables” looks to dispatch all comers at this weekend’s box office smackdown. Clearly the film has the male audience on lockdown, but to underestimate its appeal to women would be a mistake and thus the film should have a solid weekend by drawing both sexes to this testosterone-heavy thrill ride.
The second spot will likely be filled by a softer, gentler sort of movie as Julia Roberts stars in Sony’s big screen version of the best-selling novel “Eat Pray Love.” The film will have a solid enough debut, but will likely generate positive word-of-mouth over the long haul and could garner a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination for the always terrific Richard Jenkins. With exotic locations, terrific performances and very “un-Expendable” style sensitivity, women will be lining up to follow this romantic journey of enlightenment with one of the biggest female stars in the world.
Julia's big brother Eric stars in "The Expendables." See my box office sibling rivalry story here - Julia Roberts vs. Eric Roberts at the box office.
Third spot will provide a box office battle of another sort as the fanboys prepare to battle “The Other Guys” for bragging rights with Universal’s “Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World” starring Michael Cera and based on the graphic novel wooing the young male demographic while last Weekend’s number one film “The Other Guys” from Sony will give young Scott a run for his box office money. Warner Bros.’ "Inception" will continue to be a factor in the top-five derby with yet another drop in the mid to high 30% range and placing it fifth with a gross of over $10 million in dream-weaving bucks.
A major box office milestone is also in the cards this weekend as “Toy Story 3” looks to become only the eleventh film in history to cross $400 million in domestic revenue. See my story on this important box office event at this link - Toy Story 3 to hit $400 million!
A genre-heavy weekend in store that pits aging action heroes against a twenty-something graphic novel character and a middle-aged woman as we try to keep up with tough year ago comparisons when Sony's "District 9" had a bigger-than-expected $37.3 million debut.

After being cursed by delays The Wolfman Hollywood’s latest spin on the popular werewolf myth finally bares its ugly fangs in theaters this week. Predictably the film is a train wreck of a debacle -- one would expect nothing less from a notoriously troubled production that saw its original director Mark Romanek abandon ship just two weeks before the start of shooting -- but The Wolfman’s problems stem less from the late-game addition of helmer Joe Johnston who at the very least delivered a terrific looking film (its gorgeously eerie Victorian aesthetic evoking a palpable exquisite sense of dread is by far its best feature) than from the misguided efforts of its producer and star Benicio Del Toro.
The Wolfman is the brainchild of Del Toro an ardent horror fan who conceived the film as an homage of sorts to the low-budget “monster movies” from the ‘30s and ‘40s that he loved dearly as a child. It’s fashioned as a loose remake of 1941’s The Wolf Man a film that both established Lon Chaney Jr.’s performance as the definitive take on the character and introduced aspects of the werewolf legend now considered sacrosanct. The notion that a werewolf can be felled by an item made from silver for example owes its origin to The Wolf Man.
But Del Toro feels all wrong in the role of Lawrence Talbot the prodigal son of a 19th-century English aristocrat whose fateful encounter with a bloodthirsty lycan the same creature that brutally murdered his brother just days prior triggers his unwitting initiation into the accursed tribe of feral man-beasts. Del Toro's resume of low-key understated performances marked by a muttering often imperceptible delivery in films like Traffic and The Usual Suspects suggests a skill set better suited to playing another famous movie monster one significantly less loquacious than his character in this movie. Seriously -- the guy should have remade Frankenstein instead.
Playing an American-bred (but English-born we’re told) character in an 1890 setting looking uncomfortable in period attire surrounded by such “proper” British actors as Sir Anthony Hopkins and Emily Blunt and fully annunciating all of his line readings for the first time that I can recall Del Toro appears hopelessly out of place in The Wolfman.
Things only get worse unfortunately when Del Toro’s character transforms into the dreaded werewolf. Each time the moon is full the film transitions with increasing ridiculousness from a somber Victorian drama into a hard-core horror flick replete with grisly shots of torn flesh exposed spines and severed limbs. The first overly gruesome attack triggers a kind of nervous laugh more from the shock than anything else. The second invites an amused uneasy chuckle which soon snowballs into an outright belly laugh. And the effect soon spreads to the dialogue the outrageous gore rendering the film's mannered melodrama strangely hysterical.
Of all the Wolfman players only Hopkins seems to get the joke reveling in his manipulative mischief as Talbot's inappropriately glib stoutly aloof father. If only he'd let his castmates in on it.

Sidibe was selected for her stand-out performance in Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire, alongside Carey Mulligan (An Education), Saoirse Ronan (The Lucky Bones) and Michael Stuhlbarg (A Serious Man) to receive the prize, which recognises emerging actors in Hollywood.
But scheduling conflicts prevented the newcomer from attending the ceremony, so Young Victoria star Blunt joined the SBIFF Virtuosos winners line-up on Sunday (07Feb10), accepting a statuette and participating in a question and answer session with her fellow honourees.
Sidibe will accept her Virtuoso Award on Friday (12Feb10) during a special segment in the SBIFF Cinema Vanguard Awards, where The Lovely Bones star Stanley Tucci will be honoured.
Last year's (09) Virtuosos were Viola Davis, Rosemarie DeWitt, Sally Hawkins, Richard Jenkins, Melissa Leo and Michael Shannon.